Someplace to Sleep
by cherrymilk
Summary: For #FFXVWEEK on Tumblr! Theme: [free day] sleepover. The party is down two tents, so they end up crammed into a little room for the night! A fort is built, and dinner is had.


**Author's Note** **:** This is my final piece of writing for FFXVWEEK on Tumblr! Feel free to follow me at beat-rush, and thanks for reading!

* * *

Noctis sat in the back of the Regalia, the wind ruffling his hair. They had been on the road for what seemed like forever, and now the sun was dipping below the horizon. Usually, they would try to find a place to set up camp, but there was just one problem: both their tents had massive holes in them. For once, Prompto wasn't to blame – just last night, two horned monsters had decided to crash their campsite. Apparently, the smell of Ignis' cooking was irresistible, and even the roaring campfire couldn't deter them.

No tents meant no camp, and no camp meant they had nowhere to sleep.

"If you're tired, I can take over!"

Prompto, who was sitting in the passenger's seat up front said this hopefully. Noctis saw Ignis' hands tighten around the driving wheel.

"Absolutely not," he said firmly. "If you'll recall, your driving rights have been revoked."

"Aw, come on." Prompto pouted. "You know I didn't mean to crash the car! And it was just that once."

"I'd rather not risk it," Ignis responded. Prompto sighed, defeated.

"What are we going to do about camp?" Noctis asked suddenly.

Prompto shifted his body so that he was kneeling with his body facing Noctis and his hands holding onto the back of his seat for dear life.

"I thought you were asleep!" Prompto said, ignoring Ignis, who had begun to lecture him about car safety.

"Just woke up." Noctis looked over at Gladio, who was snoozing away next to him. "We should stop soon."

"I agree," Ignis said, cutting his lecture to Prompto short. "It appears that we'll have to find a place to stay."

"It'll be nice to actually sleep in a room," Prompto said, sitting down properly again. "I don't remember what it's like to sleep in a temperature controlled environment."

"Don't be dramatic," Ignis said, tapping the wheel. He looked at Noctis in the rearview mirror. "We may have to cut into our Gil supply for a room, Highness."

Noctis shrugged.

"Hey, there's a place!" Prompto pointed at a building that had just come into view. Its fluorescent sign indicated that there was a vacancy. It certainly wasn't fancy – in fact, it looked a bit run down. But a room was a room, so Noctis didn't comment on it.

"I suppose we have no choice," Ignis said, pulling into the parking lot. "It'll be miles before we come across another place."

Noctis poked Gladio, who woke up with a huge yawn.

"Up and at 'em!" Prompto sang, jumping out of the car.

* * *

The entrance of the motel was a bit dingy, and appeared to have a seaside theme, despite not being near the sea at all. Prompto hung back and peered at the pictures on the wall while Ignis asked for two rooms.

"We only have the one, sir," the receptionist said apologetically, twirling her red hair around her finger. "Is that alright?"

Ignis sighed heavily.

"It's no problem," Gladio said, taking the key. He winked at the receptionist. "We'll manage."

* * *

In the elevator, Prompto was practically bouncing off the walls.

"Imagine, a real shower! And a bed! And I won't have to keep an eye open for spiders!"

He shuddered at the very idea.

The doors slid open, and they found that their room was right in front of the elevators. Gladio slipped the key into the lock and pushed the door open.

A moment of silence passed as they surveyed their new, meager kingdom.

"You might want to abandon your dreams of sleeping in a bed," Gladio said, patting Prompto on the back.

Prompto pouted and crossed his arms.

The room was small and cramped. It contained two single beds, a medium-sized couch, a small table, and a little bay window with a ledge. There was a closet built into the wall, and there was door that no doubt lead to a bathroom that was even smaller than the room.

"But look on the bright side!" Prompto said, having made the decision to quit frowning. He walked over to the thermostat on the wall. "Temperature con…"

He trailed off.

"It's broken, isn't it," Noctis grumbled.

"Still, beats being outdoors!" Prompto said quickly. "So who gets dibs on the beds?"

"His Highness, of course," Ignis said, sounding offended for Noctis' sake.

Noctis shook his head. "Nah. You and Gladio probably need the space a little more."

"But –" Ignis began.

"I'll take the couch." Noctis walked over and sat down on it. It let out a terrible creak that made Prompto jump.

"Guess that leaves me the tiniest little ledge in all of existence," Prompto said dramatically.

"Guess so." Gladio's tone was good-natured, and he chuckled. "You're tiny, Prompt. I don't think you're going to suffer as much as you think you will."

"We'll see about that!" Prompto sniffed. "And I'm not that tiny!"

* * *

Now that the sleeping arrangements were settled, Ignis and Gladio decided to venture out in search of food. With them gone, Noctis decided to hop into the shower.

The water was nothing more than a drizzle, but it definitely beat washing in a freezing river or lake. Noctis felt himself start to relax, and suddenly began to look forward to sleeping the night away on the creaky couch.

When he came out, however, the couch had been toppled over, and was leaning upside down against the table.

"Prompto?" Noctis called out uncertainly, rubbing his hair with a towel.

Prompto poked his head out of a little gap in the accompanying mess of cushions and sheets. "Look, Noct, I made a fort!"

"Ignis is going to kill you," Noctis said. He tried to say this seriously, but couldn't stop a smile from taking over his face. "And besides, that was my bed."

"It's way too early to sleep!" Prompto's voice was muffled as he retreated into the fort. "There's still dinner, and I've always wanted to make one of these!"

"Alright, well, shower's yours." Noctis sat down on the foot of one of the beds. "Don't blame me if Ignis kicks your ass."

"You won't protect me?" Prompto asked pitifully, crawling out of his fort and heading to the bathroom.

"Not a chance."

* * *

When Prompto left the bathroom, Noctis was nowhere to be found.

"Noct?"

No answer.

He peered into the little fort and saw that Noctis was snoozing away.

"Noct!"

Noctis opened his eyes, looking annoyed. "What?"

"No napping in the fort!"

"What kind of rule is that?" Noctis grumbled, moving as Prompto joined him. "And I'm starting to think this is more of a one person fort."

"No such thing."

* * *

The door let out a squeak as it swung open, revealing an empty room.

"What happened in here?" Ignis asked. He briefly wondered if they'd been ambushed, seeing as how the room was in absolute shambles. He handed Gladio the food and walked over to the toppled over couch, only to see Prompto's head poking out from underneath it.

"Look, Ignis, I made a fort!" he chirped.

Ignis let out a long, long exhale and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Prompto."

Noctis' head poked out next. "What did you bring?"

"Need I remind you," Ignis said, directing this statement toward Prompto, "that you are an adult?"

Prompto grinned. "Quit being such a stick in the mud. You can come in, too, if you want."

"I don't…" Ignis sighed. "Do you want to eat or not?"

* * *

Much to Noctis' despair, the meal was definitely a nutritious one. Ignis tried to get Prompto to disassemble the fort, but failed, so they ended up sitting on the floor. Prompto and Noctis were still partially shielded by the turned over couch, and Gladio and Ignis sat just outside the fort's makeshift entrance, their backs leaning against a bed.

"How'd you find food with so many vegetables in it this far out?" Noctis asked, picking at his plate.

"You know Iggy," Gladio laughed. "He'll go to incredible lengths for nutrition."

Prompto remained quiet, so Ignis took this opportunity to speak.

"Prompto, when we're done, I fully expect you to…"

"I just realized!" Prompto interrupted, looking starry eyed. "This is my first actual sleepover!"

"All that camping didn't count?" Gladio asked. "What about all the other rooms we've gotten?"

"Nope! Camping is camping, and the four of us have never shared a room like this."

Gladio shrugged, seemingly satisfied with this answer.

"Sorry, Ignis, didn't mean to cut you off," Prompto said. "You were saying?"

"Nothing," Ignis replied, his maternal instinct rearing its head. "I was just going to express admiration for your…fort."

"Did you hear that, Noct?!" Prompto exclaimed. "And you said Ignis was gonna kill me!"

* * *

The night ended quite unexpectedly, with the four of them drifting off to sleep on the carpeted floor around and inside of the fort after hours of chatter. The next morning, only Prompto was bright eyed and bushy tailed, clearly pleased with how his first 'proper' sleepover had played out. The others were exhausted. Ignis was sure that things would have been a lot better if only they had followed their initial sleeping arrangements, but as he listened to Noctis and Gladio laugh at Prompto's chatter while they drove off, he decided that it would be alright to let things slide just this once.


End file.
